Derby Girls
by ryebrewster
Summary: Katniss has lived a rough life and found her favorite escape is roller derby, but after winning the district championship for the 4th year in a row, she's feeling like she could use a bit more distraction. Enter Peeta, the unattainable guy from way back when...who might be attainable if she just knew the effect she has on him. Rated M for language and sexual content. AU one-shot.
**a/n: Debating whether to keep this a one-shot or move forward with it. There's more backstory built into it than belongs in a one-shot, but I just don't know if/when I'll have the time to expand on it. Would love feedback to know if anyone thinks it's worth moving forward. Cheers!**

Derby Girls:

"5 o'clock! 5 o'clock!"

"Coming round on 3!"

"She's all elbows!"

"Whip 'er!"

"Low, comin' low!"

The shouts around her created a cacophony that only a derby girl could appreciate—and Katniss could decipher every comment until she ducked her way out of the cluster of elbows, knees and shoulders to clear the pack. Slamming her hands down on her hips twice, she called an end to the jam, claiming the 12 points her roller derby team, The Dirty Dozen, needed to secure the district championship as the play-clock ran out.

From the center of the ring, she could hear Gale's voice rise above.

"That's my girl on fire!"

Jo rounded on her and pulled her into a head lock, jarring her helmet at an odd angle, causing her to cough.

"Careful with the goods, Jo!"

"Way to go, Brainless! Denver, here we come!"

Jo let go of her long enough to grab her hand and tug her past their team bench to grab water bottles and then toward the seats where Katniss's sister, Prim, and Prim's boyfriend, Rory, were cheering.

"You guys coming to the after-party?" Jo huffed out. "I owe this gorgeous wench at least three rounds for the number of hits she got in on that cunt Cashmere." She pulled Katniss against her again and placed a loud playful kiss on her helmet.

Prim glanced around. "Jo, language. People have their kids here!"

"That's their mistake for bringing wee ones to a bloodbath. Not my problem!"

Katniss laughed and shook her head, "You know this is how we recruit new players, right? Mothers are some of our toughest players—they've got so much frustration to work out."

"Yeah, and they're also some of our most unpredictable. Take Annie over there! Did you see the hit she delivered on Clove?! She's gonna have one helluva bruise on her ribs tomorrow."

Katniss turned toward Annie, aka Annihilatrix, and caught a brief glance behind her of familiar blue eyes and curly blonde hair. And then it was gone, blocked by the muscular chest of Annie's husband, Finnick, and his even larger laugh. She squinted slightly, unsure of what she had seen, and waved over to Finnick and Annie.

"See you guys at the party?"

"Just have to drop Finn off at the Grammy Mags's and we'll be there!" Finnick called back.

Again, she thought she saw a tussle of blonde curls over Finnick's shoulder, but turned back to Prim as she heard the younger woman asking Jo questions about the upcoming regional championships in Denver. The Dirty Dozen had won the regional title for the last three years running, and they were hoping to go for four in a row, a flat-track derby record. They would find out who their competitors would be when the bouts in Phoenix ended later that day—while they were at the after-party at The Hob.

"So I guess I better rustle us up some good places to crash in Denver," Jo said, mischief filling her voice.

"Please no!" Katniss practically shouted, drawing the attention of half remaining people in the rink, including Gale.

"What? You can't say roadtrips with me aren't interesting, Little Miss Pure." The last time Jo'd been left in charge of housing, they'd ended up at some ex-hook-up of Jo's who presumed that she was getting paid in sexual favors. Not that Jo didn't deliver, but Katniss certainly was not about to offer herself up on the menu. She'd only ever been with one sexual partner, Gale, and that hadn't exactly worked out too well. Jo, by comparison, had been arrested for public indecency in at least six states.

That said, with how Katniss's life had been going lately, she was almost open to the idea of a random hook-up. She needed something to distract her from taking care of her mom and the two jobs she's been working to keep the family afloat, including keeping Prim in school. And, having gone for nearly two years without any sexual contact was wearing on her. She knew part of her aggression on the rink was sexual tension, but no amount of private time with her vibrator was getting done what she needed.

It was at The Hob that she finally saw the head of blonde curls again and confirmed her earlier suspicion. She didn't know how Annie and Finnick knew Peeta Mellark, but she would've had a hard time forgetting him. Popular back in grade school, he'd always run in different circles from her, but she'd noticed him nonetheless. He had these nearly cobalt eyes that drew her in, and a friendly smile with a dimple in his left cheek. They'd never actually spoken beyond the very basic got-a-pencil-I-could-borrow dialogue, but she was intrigued by his presence now that they were adults. All the nerves and social standing of school were no longer relevant once you'd been released into the real world.

She slipped into Haymitch's office and changed out of her risqué uniform in his private bathroom, leaving her bag to grab later. He wouldn't mind. After all, she was his most reliable employee—even more so than his drunken self—and she had the opening shift the next day. She was planning to crash on his couch and had packed her bag accordingly, tucking a pair of pajamas alongside the fishnets and electric razor that were prerequisites for every derby bout.

Smoothing down the demin skirt and loose green silk tank top that didn't quite cover her toned stomach, she slipped back out to the bar and easily took her place by the taps, ready to pour drinks. Hearing a throat clear behind her, she spun around to face Gale.

"What can I get you, Gale?"

"Any chance you're on the menu? You look nice tonight, Catnip."

"So a pint of lager, you say? One pint coming up."

She turned back to the taps and started a stream of lager into a chilled glass.

"Come on, Catnip. We're headed to the championships again. Don't you think it's time to forgive and forget?"

She turned back to face him, one hand still on the glass as it filled. "Gale, I forgave you ages ago, but I'll never be stupid enough to forget…And stop calling me Catnip. I'm not eleven years old anymore." She topped off the pint, with a perfect ½ inch of head and handed it over to him. "It's time you grew up too."

Jo squeezed herself into the bar, next to Gale, making great effort to rub her chest against Gale's.

"Hey coach, got any pointers you want to go over in private tonight? I don't think the Girl on Fire is much in the mood for your notes."

"I'm not woman enough for your tastes."

"That's not true and you know it. I like men, I just prefer them a bit older and drunker."

"Please stop lusting after my boss." Katniss jumped in as she plopped Jo's Jaegerbomb down on the bar.

"I'll stop lusting when he stops being so dead sexy."

Gale coughed. "Sexy? If you go for unwashed and unable to put together a sentence, sure, he's the living definition."

"You jealous, coach?" Jo again rubbed herself lasciviously against Gale, her crossed-axe tattoo peaking out of the cleavage of her barely-there shirt.

She poured Jo a second drink and slowly worked her way toward the end of the bar where Annie and Finnick were barely keeping their hands of each other. Peeta and another friend tried not to look awkward. When Katniss first caught Peeta's eye, she saw the spark of recognition in those beautiful cobalt blues and something that looked hopeful. She found herself smiling shyly, but kept walking toward them.

"Annie, you have to stop kissing him long enough to order some drinks. Otherwise, stop hogging seats at the bar."

Annie and Finnick broke apart and Finnick's winning grin met her. "Mockin' J! Two absinthes for the lady and I…you know how I love the sugar cubes…and get these two morose fuckers whatever they want too…My friends, Peeta and Thresh."

"Hi Peeta. Thresh."

"Hi Katniss." The grin on Peeta's face was barely a step short of ecstatic. Did he think she wouldn't remember his name?

"You know her real name? Peeta, you been holding out on me?" Finnick ribbed him with his elbow. "How do you know Mockin' J?"

Katniss jumped in before he could answer. "He went to grade school with Gale and I." She watched as a darkness seemed to drift through Peeta's features but he recovered quickly. "I haven't seen you since graduation."

"Yeah, a lot has changed since then. How you been? Besides kicking ass every weekend."

"Oh, yeah, a lot is an understatement. I tell you what, let me get your drinks and then I'll duck out to the other side of the bar so we can catch up."

"You can take a break?"

"I'm not really supposed to be working tonight. I just find if I hide behind the bar it keeps me from being too hungover the next day and from making any bad decisions."

"And you're not afraid of bad decisions tonight?"

"I'm overdue for a couple." She smirked at him as she moved to grab a bottle of tequila from under the bar. "Just give me a minute."

She wasn't sure what had gotten into her tonight, but she was okay with it. Where five years ago she would have been too nervous to talk to Peeta Mellark, tonight it seemed like the most natural thing to do. Where five weeks ago, Gale hitting on her would have ticked her off, tonight she easily shrugged him off and watched Peeta's face light up as she kept her attention focused on him. Where five days ago, she wouldn't have thought it possible to bring herself to dance after all the negativity that had filled her life, tonight she found herself surrendering to the music and matching Peeta's every move and loving the feel of the effect she had on him. Where five hours ago, she wouldn't have dreamed of taking someone into Haymitch's office to have her way with them, tonight every time they sat to take a break and rest their legs, she kept trying to come up with excuses to get Peeta alone and naked. Finally, as she watched him rub absent-mindedly at his left thigh for the umpteenth time of the night, Katniss leaned across the table and placed her own hand over his. He bristled at first at the touch, but as her hand slid ever higher, the tension in his body changed from nerves to desire.

"If you're feeling a little sore, I have Advil and some muscle cream in my bag in the back office. Why don't you come with me? I could use some too. Tonight's bout was rougher than most."

The look that passed over his eyes was indecipherable, but he nodded in agreement. "Okay. Lead the way."

They wove through the crowd, Jo winking at her from where she was grinding against a very drunk Gale, and she pulled a key from her back pocket as they approached the office. Slipping inside, Katniss immediately pushed Peeta back against the door once it was closed and molded her lips to his. After a surprised moment of delay, he responded eagerly, his hands finding their way along her sides and holding her to him as he'd been doing all night while they danced.

For as sweaty as they were, he still smelled delicious—like cinnamon and dill and something distinctly Man. She found she couldn't get close enough to him, his lips and hands driving her to distraction as she wound her fingers into his curls.

"Katniss," he moaned her name, and it only served to spur her on, tugging lightly on his curls as she bit down gently on his bottom lip.

"Yes, Peeta?"

"God, you feel so good. Why has it taken me this long to find you?"

"I've been a bit of a hermit since school, but none of that matters right now. Just shut up and kiss me again."

He followed orders beautifully, she found, and her hands kept moving down his body, feeling each bit of muscle that had taunted her while they were dancing.

"Peeta…" Her voice was breathless and her intention clear as her fingers fell to his zipper. It was his hesitation that made her pull back and lock eyes with him, the question on her lips.

"Don't you want me to?"

"Hah, yes. Yes, I do…but, I don't…I mean, this isn't exactly how I wanted this to go…"

"Really? We just spent the last two hours grinding against each other from every angle on the dance floor. I was pretty certain this was _exactly_ how you wanted this to go." She ran her hands up the muscles of his chest to cup behind his neck, pulling him down for another searing kiss. It seemed unreal to her that kissing him could feel this good, this easy, when every move she and Gale had made had been a battle for control. But here she was, ready to strip down for someone who, despite having been aware of him most of her life, she barely knew.

His arms had wrapped around her and pulled her tight against him, emphasizing again how much he did, indeed, want her. If the pent-up frustration inside her wasn't going to make this happen, it was how fantastic he felt—muscle, and soft skin, and amazing lips. This was exactly what she needed after the week she'd had. Hell, the life she'd had. A chance to wipe out the memory of her mother in her hospital bed, her sister's tone whenever she threatened to quit school, and Gale giving her those pathetic puppy dog eyes. A chance to feel alive again and forget the scars and the hurt and the loss. A chance to forget she was an automaton just going through the motions to keep everyone afloat.

She moaned into him and felt his tongue caressing hers again. His fingers pressed into her back and ass and on instinct she lifted her leg to wrap behind his, pulling him even closer.

"Please, Peeta." She heard the borderline begging tone in her voice and knew she should be embarrassed, but refused to be. She needed this.

Again, she watched the hesitation pass over his face mixed with something else that looked raw and intense.

"Katniss, you have no idea how much I want to…I just don't want this to be the way this happens. This is going to sound stupid, given how tonight has gone, but… I like you."

She smiled at what sounded like a middle-school confession. His hands still held her close as he leaned against the door and she pressed a series of kisses to his jaw. "I like you too…that seems like a good reason not to stop."

"No, I mean, I've liked you…for a while."

"What?" She pulled back a bit and laughed, but still held on to him like she was afraid he would disappear. Her hands played with the top button of his shirt, loosening and refastening it, over and over.

"I never had the nerve back in school, and you were always with Gale anyway, and then I was with Delly, even though I really shouldn't have been with Delly…and I just never got the chance, or maybe never was brave enough to take the chance…I've like you for a long time."

She finally found the strength to disentangle herself from him and stepped back to look him in the eye.

"That was years ago, Peeta. What are you talking about? You've had a thing for me for the better part of a decade? That's, I mean, it's sweet, but it's also a little creepy."

"Please, don't think I'm creepy." He pried himself up off the door and took a step toward her. "I didn't stalk you or anything. I just…ever since you sang that solo…I couldn't get your voice out of my head. So I started noticing you—how beautiful you are. How brave you are. You were always so strong, even when your dad died in the accident. I just admired how you never seemed to get down on yourself, and you took care of your sister…my brothers would never have done that for me."

"You seem to know an awful lot about me for not having stalked me…that solo was like 6th grade. That's _over_ a decade! Why didn't you ever talk to me?"

"Like I said, you were with Gale, and I was with Delly, and you were, are, kind of intimidating. I didn't really know what to say. We didn't have any of the same friends. I really had no excuse to talk to you. You would have just shot me down."

"I…you can't know that. You don't know what I would have done."

She had backed away from him far enough to sit on Haymitch's desk and found herself crossing her arms over her chest, taking the defensive stance Gale always called her out on.

Peeta chuckled. "Really? A random guy, who you've never really spoken to before, walks up to you in school one day and professes his love for you and you're going to just shrug and say, 'Great, wanna make out?'"

The laugh burst out of her before she could suppress it. "Okay, maybe not quite like that…" It took another moment before exactly what he had said sunk in. _Professes his_ love. _As in L.O.V.E._ "You thought you were in love with me?"

"Well, I was a teenage boy with raging hormones who couldn't stop thinking about a long dark braid and stormy eyes. Felt pretty real to me."

"But now?"

He took a cautious step forward, like he was approaching a skittish animal, looking to escape. "Now, I'm a grown man who would really like to get to know you when there's not teenage angst or gratuitous amounts of tequila involved."

She nodded, letting her arms slide back down to grip the edge of Haymitch's desk.

"And you're not willing to get to know me tonight, in the naked sense?" He took another, more confident step toward her, his hands seeming to itch to reach out for her.

"I would very much like to get to know you, in the naked sense…"

She hopped off the desk and closed the distance between them, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head in one fluid motion. In an instant, she had reattached herself to his lips and was working the buttons of his shirt to expose the muscles she'd been marveling at all night. He moaned into her in response and, as soon as she had his shirt open, pressed his chest against hers, sparking the fire again with the contact of skin on skin.

She kept expecting to feel his hands on her back again, wanting him to tear at the bra she barely needed, but instead his hands gripped her upper arms and gently pulled her away.

"Fuck," he said under his breath before more audibly, "Just, not tonight."

She was stunned. Completely embarrassed and shocked. He was shooting her down. He'd told her he'd been infatuated with her in school. He'd been rubbing his hard-on against her all night and here, as she was literally throwing herself at him, he was saying no. Well, fuck that.

"God damnit, Mellark, grow a set! You didn't have the nerve to talk to me back in school and now, when I'm just about begging you to fuck me, you won't man up. What the fuck is that?"

She spun on her heel and stormed into the bathroom adjoining the office, where her derby bag still sat from when she had changed earlier. She dug in the bag, searching for anything that might be able to squelch the fire that was burning in her belly, remembering the electric razor she always kept along, because risqué uniforms require regular shaving. Without a care that he was still in the next room, with no door between them, she unbutton her skirt and dropped it to the ground. Then she hopped up onto the edge of the sink and propped one foot against the wall. Flipping the switch on her electric razor, she gingerly held the handle against her clit over her panties. The vibrations were enough to help her begin to feel the urge building again, though the fire wasn't there as before.

Her eyes had sunken shut when she heard shuffling in the office. She didn't bother to open her eyes, even as she was sure he had moved to see what she was doing. Instead, she let her free hand dip into the cup of her bra and pinch at her nipple. The thought of him watching emboldened her and she let a moan slip from her lips. If he wasn't willing to help her forget, help her feel whole for a night, she could find other ways. And, let him see what he was missing. Jo would be proud.

When he cleared his throat, her lids shot open and she locked eyes with him.

"Don't try this at home, kids," was all she bothered to say to him, the glare she fixed him with a dare.

"Katniss…"

"What, Mellark? You don't know the week I've had, you don't know the month I've had. You know nothing about me except that the one thing I've ever asked of you, you said no. I need to shut off my brain tonight, and if this does that for me, I'm going to make it happen. You have two choices right now. You can stand there and watch me fuck myself, or you can take this bad excuse for a vibrator away from me and come join me. I know which one I'd prefer—"

She hadn't even finished the words before she felt the razor stripped from her hands and heard it shut off. Immediately he dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled her panties to the side, his mouth closing over her and finding her clit with no hesitation. She could barely stifle the scream of joy that erupted from her throat as she began to feel his tongue swiping along her slit and circling the bundle of nerves expertly. Katniss's hand that had been holding the razor sunk into his curls and held him tight against her, though he seemed to have no intention of going anywhere else. Peeta's hand, in the meantime, slid up her toned calf and pulled her thigh up over his shoulder, bringing her even closer to him.

His name slipped from her lips a hundred different ways as he erased any doubt of his desire for her with his ardent attention. She was hanging on the edge of ecstasy when she felt two of his fingers slip into her and curl up against her walls. And she was literally falling, her orgasm lifting her off the edge of the sink and onto him as wave after wave crashed through her. It was only after she had started to come down from the high that she realized she was sitting on his shoulders and he had held her up the entire time, his head resting sideways against her pelvis, like he was listening to her orgasm as well as having felt it around his fingers.

She released his curls and tried to shift herself back, reaching for the sink and looking down at him, a little embarrassed by her enthusiasm.

"Fuck, Mellark, that was…wow."

He kissed her pelvis, just to the left of the flame tattoo that graced her hip. "I was wrong. I can't say no to you."

"I'll have to remember that. Now get back up here so I can return the favor."

He eased himself out from under her thighs and started to stand up, having a little trouble with his left leg. "It's okay. You don't have to—," he started.

She quieted him by cupping his obvious erection. "And if I _want_ to? If the thought of sucking your cock is the only thing keeping me sane right now? Would you still stop me?"

He chuckled again, the sound sending another spike of heat down to her core. Perhaps she was exaggerating, but she had to admit, the thought of touching him so intimately was driving her a bit mad. She hadn't wanted someone so acutely…ever. Why was he different? She pushed the thought from her mind and focused instead on getting into his jeans. He seemed to take special care to make sure they didn't drop to the floor and realized that perhaps hooking up in Haymitch's office bathroom wasn't the most sanitary idea. But at the moment, it would have to do.

Catching his eyes once more, she waited for him to nod his approval before she pulled his length out of his boxers, and felt her breath catch at the sight of him. Granted, though her experience with naked men amounted to one, she still found herself believing Peeta was beautiful from head to, well, head. She absent-mindedly licked her lips in anticipation and stroked her hand up and down the soft, yet hard, skin.

"It really is a wonder, isn't it? How it can be rock hard and yet velvety soft. I mean, it's such a contradiction. It's difficult not to be fascinated." Her hand kept up its steady stroke, occasionally gathering pre-cum from the tip and spreading it across the head.

"Did you just call my cock fascinating?"

"Well, yours, yes, but penises in general. There's no part of my body that feels like this." She squeezed it lightly to emphasize the point and he reflexively thrust into her hand.

"Maybe not, but there's a part of your body that feels even better." His eyes had taken on a hooded quality and it was obvious to her that he didn't mind her taking it slow.

"I guess that's the key to knowing who you're attracted to, isn't it? Which part causes more fascination?"

"I don't know. Most men, hetero and gay, are pretty fascinated by their own equipment too."

She laughed lightly. "And if the girls on my team are any indication, most of us are pretty baffled by boobs too."

"Aah, boobs." And it was as if he had just been given permission to remember she had tossed her shirt aside in the other room. His hand slid up her rib cage and traced the black ink flame that curled out from under her bra. "Does this continue?"

"Why don't you find out?"

He slid her bra straps down her shoulders and reached around to unhook the bra, letting it fall to her forearm as she continued her slow strokes on him. Exposed, it was clear the tattooed flame licked below her left breast, and up around to just barely touch her shoulder. His fingers continued to trace the flames until he turned his hand to cup the entire breast, tipping his head down to take her nipple in his mouth. Her gasp egged him on, encouraging his left hand to follow suite with her other breast, gently tweaking the nipple between his fingers before bringing his mouth to soothe it.

She squeezed him again before slowing sinking down, forcing him to release her nipple with a loud pop. Her eyes locked on his as she sunk to her knees.

"This was supposed to be about you," she cooed.

"No, if I recall this was about keeping you sane."

"Well, if you keep that up, I might go insane and force myself on you."

"I've already told you I can't seem to say no to you. I'd hardly call that forcing."

Her eyebrow tweaked up as she licked her lips and then slowly slid his length between her lips. She swirled her tongue around his head, to lubricate it before tonguing the sweet spot below it and then began sliding up and down on him in earnest. One hand still stroked the part of him that she couldn't easily fit in her mouth, the other skimmed around his hip and up his stomach, tracing his davids and six pack before grazing her nails back down.

"Fuck…Katniss. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to last. You…you look so good, and this feels…ah, so good, and you have no idea how many fantasies…ohh…I had back in school that starred you in exactly this..uuh…position. Holy shit."

His head fell back and she took it as permission to pick up the pace, twisting her head slightly to the left and right, being careful to keep from scraping him with her teeth and keeping her tongue hitting him on the sweet spot. She felt his thigh twitch before he warned her. "Katniss…I'm going to…"

Her hand just tightened around his shaft while her other clutched at his hip. Feeling his release hit her in the back of the throat, she waited patiently until he was finished before she swallowed and then gently sucked him clean. Then, she placed a light kiss at each crease of his hip before kissing her way back up his stomach.

"Thank you," she practically giggled when she saw the blissful look on his face.

"Thank you? Are you kidding me? You are amazing."

"Remember, you were helping me out."

"Hardly. I don't think I've cum that hard in months."

"Same here. Was only right that I return the favor."

His hand slid up to cup her breast again and he looked more intently at the tattoo, gently tracing the scar hidden beneath it. And then he was pulling her against him, kissing her fiercely and pressing their naked torsos together. Again, it was just too easy to sink into him, teasing one another with their tongues, sucking gently on each other's lips until they were breathless with renewed want.

He continued to trace kisses down her neck to her collarbone. "I'm at your service, anytime. I just hope next time you'll let me buy you dinner first."

"Does that mean you're done with me for tonight?"

"It means I meant what I said earlier." He placed one more kiss beneath her ear. "I want to get to know you, sometime when we haven't both been doing shots."

She leaned back to look him in the eye. "I'm not drunk."

His eyes narrowed and then widened with sincerity. "Neither am I, but you're not a one-night stand for me. And tequila shots too easily excuse behavior. When we are together, really together, I want there to be no question of whether we meant it to happen."

"Did I somehow give you the impression that I don't want you? I realize this is your first after-party, but I don't usually pull guys into a private room and have my way with them." All this talk of the future made her nervous. He was supposed to be distracting her from her life outside the room, outside that moment.

"And yet, I get the feeling you weren't planning on calling me tomorrow."

She was sure the truth flashed across her eyes. She knew she wasn't a good liar, so there was no point in pretending. No, she hadn't figured this was more than a one-night thing. But, according to most of the girls on the team, that was every guy's dream. What made Peeta Mellark different?

"And you were planning on calling me?"

"I wasn't planning on any of this. But, now that I've seen you again, I'm not missing my opportunity. Just promise me you'll give me your real number and not a fake one. Remember, I know where you work."

"Again, with the stalker mentality."

He sat back against the sink again and pulled her toward him, fixing her with his gaze.

"Listen, we haven't seen each other in years, and we barely knew each other to begin with. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the one I've regretted the most was never taking a chance talking to you. Never trying to know you. I don't believe in fate, but I'm not going to shrug off tonight, this—" he gestured between them—"as a one-night stand. So, if you want me to leave you alone, now is the time to say so. Otherwise, I want to see you," he kissed her lips, "and these," he stroked the sides of her breasts, "and this," he brushed his hand against her still damp slit, "again. Okay?"

She hummed quietly as he continued brushing against her core, barely thrusting against him to increase the pressure and ease her growing burn for yet another release. His lips returned their attention to her collarbone and eased lower toward her nipples again.

"Okay?" he repeated.

"Mmm. I'll allow it. Just don't stop what you're doing right now."

"You'll allow it," he chuckled again before wrapping his lips around her left nipple and biting her lightly. "God, I want you."

"If you'll remember, I _haven't_ said no to you."

His head shot up and he smiled, his hand immediately taking over where his mouth left. "You haven't, have you?"

"And I'm the one who took matters into her own hands when _you_ shot _me_ down. I just sayin'…"

His hands continued their slow torture and Katniss fought the urge to grab his fingers and press them back inside herself, showing him how ready she was for round two.

"I should go while I still have some willpower left."

Her head dropped to his shoulder. "Argh, please don't."

"I have to. I have to do this right this time." And suddenly his hands stopped and reached up to cup her chin. "If I keep this up, I'm not going to be able to let you go, and I don't think you're ready for that. We have a lot to learn about each other…"

Her eyebrow tweaked up again. "I've learned that you can do wonderful things with your tongue and fingers. And that I like how you taste. Isn't that enough?"

He smiled and kissed her again. "You taste like heaven, but no, there's a bit more to both of us than that. Give me your number." His kisses started heading south again, he stopped and reached into his pants to retrieve his phone. "Please, give me your number."

She sighed and took the phone from his hand, programming The Hob's number into it, using her derby name, Mockin' J. Let him figure it out. She didn't date, but she definitely wanted to see him again. He'd been the one person who could distract her from the nightmare that was her life. If nothing else, she wanted him around for some distraction.

As he slid the phone back into his pocket, she let her hands graze over his stiffening member one more time.

"Last chance, Mellark. You sure you want to leave?"

"No, Everdeen. Not in a million years do I want to leave, but we've got plenty of chances ahead of us." He pulled her in for one last fiery kiss, leaving her burning for more, before he extricated himself from the bathroom, repositioned his stiffened cock in his pants and retrieved his shirt.

She leaned in the bathroom doorway, making no effort to cover herself and still hoping he'd change his mind.

"Goodnight Peeta…Think of me sometime." It came out as part sigh. She watched his resolve waiver before he opened the door.

"Always."


End file.
